Services & Programs

Tri-County Schools

An education and a fresh start

NCYF’s Tri-County Schools program (TCS) excels at educating children and teens with complex emotional needs. By teaching kids how to live and work in their community in addition to providing a strong academic curriculum, TCS is both comprehensive and compelling. Our techniques are as varied as the students we serve, but the goal is the same: to give at-risk kids a quality education that builds critical thinking, life skills and the self-esteem essential to success.

Traditional educational settings are rarely equipped to meet the needs of children coming from significant instability and trauma, which often leads to high drop-out rates and perpetuates dysfunction. TCS offers a comprehensive continuum of care to our kids, enabling us to offer highly individualized special education and related services to those who need it most. And because many students enrolled in our schools also participate in our residential or foster care programs, each child benefits from a dedicated and involved team of NCYF professionals.

At TCS, small classes enable quality communication, instruction and interaction with both teachers and peers. Each day brings much needed rhythm and routine, balancing group work with solo study while exploring subjects from math and science to social studies and spelling. Additionally, we offer physical education as well as free time, which may be spent playing chess or catching up on coursework. And at various times students may leave the classroom for tutoring, speech or occupational therapy, if needed.

Some TCS Highlights

  • The Life Skills classroom, focused on experiential learning.
  • Art Therapy program, fostering positive means of expression through creativity.
  • Community garden and recycling program, encouraging green living and staff/student collaboration.
  • Extracurriculars, including basketball, softball, nature walks and Chess Club.
  • Social events, inspiring meaningful interactions and model behavior through group gatherings such as monthly birthday parties for younger students and the spring dance for ages 15 and up.

TCS proudly received many commendations and was found to be in 100% compliance with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s regulations during their 2009 Six Year Program Review.

Academics have always been fundamental and fully integrated into NCYF’s system. Unlike many other service providers, we can directly provide high-quality and individualized educational services to our kids or, when appropriate, arrange for other schools to provide support.

“I am always impressed each June at graduation. Many of our seniors go on to attend community colleges or other higher educational institutions. It’s pretty amazing when you know the educational needs that they first come to us with.”
— Heather Pighetti, Senior Teacher